1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water-supply device for use in an automatic ice maker which automatically provides ice cubes.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 10 shows the structure of a conventional water-supply device of an automatic ice maker of a household refrigerator. The water-supply device is contained in a refrigerating compartment 1, and supplies water need in a plastic water container 2 to an ice tray 5 contained in a freezing compartment 4 by a water-supply pump 3. A water-supply tank 6 is mounted on the water container 2 and can be installed and removed. The water container 2 is supplied with water from the water-supply tank 6 through a water-supply portion 8 having a water-supply valve 7. The water level in the water container 2 contains a quantity of water to always close a bottom opening portion of the water-supply portion 8.
A partition wall 10 partitions off a water-supply enclosure 11 and a quantity enclosure 12 in the water container 2. The water-supply portion 8 of the water-supply tank 6 projects into the water-supply enclosure 11. A pump 3a of the water-supply pump 3 projects into the quantity enclosure 12. When the water-supply pump 3 is driven, water in the quantity enclosure 12 is supplied to the ice tray 5. When the water level in the quantity enclosure 12 drops, there is a difference between the water level in the quantity enclosure 12 and the water level in the water-supply enclosure 11. The quantity enclosure 12 is supplied with a small water through a hole 9. Because the hole 9 passing between the enclosures 11 and 12 is very small. As a result while water is being supplied to the ice tray 5 from the quantity enclosure 12, only a very small quantity of water passes through hole 9 from water-supply enclosure 11. Therefore only the quantity of water in container 12 is supplied to the ice tray 5.
According to the conventional water-supply device described above, the water supply system is established on the premise that very little water is supplied to the quantity enclosure 12 through the hole 9 from water in the water-supply enclosure 11 while water is supplied the ice tray 5, because the hole 9 passing through the enclosure 11 and 12 is very small. However the hole 9 size could be different from a conventional size because of an aberration occurring during fabrication. As a result the quantity water is supplied from quantity enclosure 12 by driving water-supply pump 3 will not be correct amount when the conventional water is formed larger than the conventional size. Thus quantity supplying system will not provide in an adeguate degree of precision because water quantity supplied to the ice tray 5 can vary from product to product.
Also, the water container 2 can become dirty or moldy therein because there is water always impounded in the container 2. A noise from driving the water-supply pump 3 during the supply of water to the ice tray 5 may be annoying to a user.